Ariel Castro was sentenced today to LWOP plus 1000 years -- an inadequate punishment, but probably the best that could be done given the difficulties of proving a capital crime, and of the very understandable reluctance of the three victims to recount their ordeal at Castro's hands.
The Wall Street Journal recounts part of Castro's sentencing:
Mr. Castro apologized and told the court he's addicted to pornography, but he claimed that most of the sex with the women was consensual. "These people are trying to paint me as a monster," he said. "I'm not a monster. I'm sick."
I heard a lot of appalling stuff in court, but that might take the cake. The sex was actually consensual (it was so consensual he had to turn his house into a dungeon to keep them there) and he's just sick.
The main problem, of course, is not that Castro is claiming sickness as an excuse. The problem is that sickness has become the mantra of criminal defense. Indeed, the legal profession has become so degraded and vulgar that it may well be malpractice for a criminal defense attorney to go through a sentencing and not claim his client was just "sick."
Well, yes, something is sick alright, but it's not the client.
I also read this morning that Castro said that he and his captives lived in "harmony," and that he referred to the child he fathered with one of the victims as a result of raping her as a "miracle." If Castro truly believes what he said, then he IS sick -- just not in any way that mitigates his culpability or his punishment.
Nailed it, as usual. The only good thing about this character is that he so wonderfully parodies the defense lines you hear every day.